Reappearance of Deuce McAllister in New Orleans Saints lineup energizes team

Brett Duke/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints' (#26) Deuce McAllister makes his way onto the field as the teams prepares to take on San Francisco

The Superdome was filled with Deuce McAllister fans Sunday, tens of thousands of them roaring after every carry and chanting his name.

His biggest supporter, though, might have been the guy jumping up and down on the Saints' sideline -- fullback Mike Karney, who admitted that he was an emotional wreck throughout the day.

"I was getting misty-eyed before the game," said Karney, who wasn't able to play for the second time in his five-year career because of an ankle injury. "I was emotional seeing 26 out there. That's who I play for, guys like him. And not being able to play, I felt like a secret service agent who protects the president who wasn't able to do his duty.

"He told me, 'Don't worry about it,' though. He said he'd have my back out there."
McAllister delivered on that promise, serving as an emotional and physical leader during the Saints' 31-17 victory over San Francisco. In his first full game back from surgeries on both of his knees last September, he finished with 73 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, plus one catch for 10 yards.

Karney said teammates were making fun of him during the game because of how animated he was, cheering for McAllister, chanting along with the crowd and repeatedly calling him "The People's Champ."

"The ultimate play of the game wasn't his touchdown," Karney said, referring to McAllister's 1-yard plunge into the end zone in the fourth quarter. "That was great and everything, him getting over the pile like Walter Payton.

"But it was that play (McAllister's first carry in the first quarter) when he got like a 2-yard gain and turned it into (a 5-yard gain) with a big rugby scrum. That's when I was like, 'Oh, he's back. He's ready to go.'

"That's impressive. I mean, two injuries and he's carrying a pile like that?"

McAllister's return provided a big boost for the home crowd and the home team. Though Karney might have been the most emphatic about it, several Saints players said they fed off of the atmosphere that McAllister created.

"You heard the fans, didn't you? I liked that," said defensive end Charles Grant, a longtime teammate of McAllister who raved about what kind of person he is. "He's a great character guy, not just good. He's one of those guys, you know, if I had some more kids I would probably say, 'Look, I'm going to name my son after him.' That's what kind of guy he is."

Quarterback Drew Brees said he was happy for McAllister because of how hard he worked to get back into a leading role like that, and he said everybody was "hyped up" by those constant chants of "Deuuuuuce!"

"Except when we were down at the 2-yard line, and I had to try to quiet everybody down so the guys could hear the snap count," Brees said with a laugh.

Linebacker Scott Fujita said from the moment McAllister entered the game with the starting lineup and sent the crowd into a frenzy, even though he didn't touch the ball in that first series, he knew "this could be something good here."

"And to watch him come out and show no ill effects whatsoever, the same kind of power, the same kind of pop that you remember from that '06 season, it was pretty neat," Fujita said.

Saints Coach Sean Payton took a lot of flak for waiting four weeks to get McAllister involved in the offense. But Payton deserves credit for using McAllister's return to the team's advantage. Although he insisted it wasn't a strategic tactic, he made sure that McAllister was introduced with the starting offense before the game -- the first moment that made the crowd erupt.

And he started the game with an offensive formation that included McAllister and tailback Reggie Bush on the field together.

"You felt that enthusiasm," said Payton, who didn't specifically plan to give McAllister so many carries before the game, but said it was evident early on that he could handle the workload. "All of us we're excited to see how he'd look. You see that gain of 2, then all of a sudden there's this big mosh, it kind of looked like Philadelphia two years ago (McAllister's dominant performance during the Saints' playoff victory over the Eagles). That was encouraging."

Payton was holding McAllister back mostly as a precaution, but also because he was uncertain of how close McAllister was to peak form. After Sunday, though, Payton said McAllister will become heavily involved in the offense from now on.

Payton showed his renewed trust in McAllister, who wasn't available for comment, by asking him to do what he does best in the fourth quarter against San Francisco -- running down the clock with six consecutive carries for a combined 15 yards to set up a field goal by Martin Gramatica.

Saints offensive tackle Jammal Brown said he felt like the run game got better throughout the day, with defenders eventually looking almost like they wanted to get out of McAllister's way.

"He wears 'em out," Karney said. "Twenty-six wears 'em out. He gets stronger as the game goes on. As he said (after the game), he could go another quarter. He wears 'em out, beats 'em up, makes 'em tired.

"Those guys don't want to see him that late in the game, I'm telling you right now. I've been out there with him enough times, and you can just see he kills their will."

The timing of McAllister's resurgence couldn't be better. The Saints are preparing this week for a Monday night matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, who have one of the most physical defensive fronts in the NFL. They rank fourth in the league in rushing yards allowed, averaging 71.8 per game.

Mike Triplett can be reached at mtriplett@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3405.